Monbijou Hotel

Berlin may be Europe’s current capital of hipness, but its boutique-hotel scene isn’t all freaky furniture and graffiti-emblazoned lofts. A substantial contingent of the city’s hoteliers are embracing coziness, rather than edginess, as their guiding inspiration. And if it weren’t right smack in the mitte of Berlin Mitte, with views of the Berliner Dom, you’d think the Monbijou Hotel were somewhere in Scandinavia, so thoroughly has it embraced the warm-and-cozy vibe that’s all but swept aside the old stereotype of the cold, minimalist design-first boutique hotel.

We’re talking hardwood floors and plush (modernist!) furniture in the guest rooms, and a bar that’s more like a member’s club than a hotel lounge, with low leather chairs, a crackling fire, and an alluring darkness that’s achieved by décor choices (rather than simply turning the lighting down to hazardously low levels). Sunlight is rather more plentiful in the guest rooms, and the other senses are anything but neglected — Molton Brown bath products and iPod docking stereos come standard.

There’s a restaurant that serves small plates in an open-plan dining room styled after a Twenties bistro, and a distinctly Parisian influence on display in all the social spaces. You’d be hard pressed to find a piece of furniture that doesn’t cry out to be sunk into — and if this is the way Berlin is headed, then we’re happy to go along for the ride.